Marigold Potter
by anonymous ink
Summary: Marigold is Harry Potter's long lost sister, she just doesn't know it. Pursuing clues of her origin, she transfers to Hogwarts in the midst of the Second Wizarding War, where she becomes entangled in Dumbledores Army. Stays true to books characters and plot line. Includes adventures, drama, satisfying family reunions and love.
1. The End of the Beginning

"Lily? Lily? Lily, what's wrong?!" James Potter desperately asked his wife.

"I was just trying to clean out the attic and ouch—"Lily Potter put a hand to her stomach. "Oh James it hurts, it hurts so much."

Lily Potter was never someone to complain so when she did, James knew it was serious. James helped his wife in a chair before spotting the small silver box next to her.

"Oh, I see you have found Aunt Milford's powder box." James laughed.

"Her what? I thought I would just peak inside and it just exploded in my face—"

"Don't worry its not dangerous—well it is, Aunt Milford almost went mad because of it, but only because she didn't know about the neutralizer—"

"James, you're not making any sense" Lily said sternly, still clutching her stomach.

"Oh right, _Accio neutralizer_ " James said with a quick motion of the wand. A small green bottle came zooming out of the piles of clutter and screeched to a halt an inch from Lily's face.

"You were never really good at that spell, were you?" Lily Teased.

"Oh, well it's hard to please a Charm's prodigy. You know, Transfiguration has always been my stronger suit." James teased back.

"Anyways drink up, it should get rid of that dizzy feeling you got, drove my poor Aunt Milford mad, of course it was before the time they knew about the side effects of Gerzer powder."

Lily downed the small green bottle in a gulp.

"Ahhhh, much better" She sighed before jumping to her feet.

"You know, we really must sort out this junk." Lily said looking around at the mountains of rubbish.

"Hey! It's not junk. There are millenniums of Potter history in here. Clutter is a Potter tradition." James said proudly.

"A tradition we don't want to pass down to Harry. Where is Harry by the way?"

"He is sleeping. Sirius' new birthday gift really tired him out—Lily! Are you all right?"

Lily had fallen to the ground, clutching her stomach for the second time that day.

"My stomach. There is something there. I need a healer." Lily gritted between her teeth, trying to suppress the pain.

"You don't think this could be a Death Eater trap?" James supposed. Lily clenched his hand more tightly.

"I don't know. I can't…I can't… Get Mari…" Lily heaved, struggling to push words from her mouth.

"Hang in there" And without another word James Potter flew down the attic stairs, and Lily saw the last of his messy black hair before she blacked out.

* * *

"Lily? Lily? Can you hear me? James you've got to wave the Pixy Salts three inches from her face not stick them in her nose."

Lily jolted straight.

"Worked anyways," James replied sheepishly.

Lily looked around the room. She was in her bedroom, but she was just in the attic… How did she… Of course! A flood of memories returned to her. Marigold MacDonald, a good friend from Hogwarts, stood beside her bed. Her wild black hair and dark eyes contrasted sharply with her white St. Mungo's robe. She was eccentric, but a trustworthy friend none the less.

"Lily, I don't want you to be alarmed. But I need you to take this potion." Mari handed her a silver goblet. "Just trust me, Lils."

Lily Potter nodded and proceeded to gulp the potion down. Yuck, that was disgusting.

"Not, very nice was it. I would have diluted it with pumpkin juice but that would have suppressed its purpose. Don't worry it's just a simple potion to mend your internal tissues, you'll be up and running in a week."

Lily wasn't listening; she was staring at the glass box in the corner of the room that contained a very small floating pink creature.

"What. Is. That." Lily said pointing at the glass box.

"Now, I know you must be very alarmed. But you have to understand the Portori Neutralizer acted as an antidote to the Gerzer powder that got caught in your lungs, but it also reacted against other strong magical forces inside your body it saw as a threat—"

"Simply put that's our daughter." James said cutting Marigold off. "The Neutralizer thought the fetus was a parasite and tried to penetrate its outer lining.

Lily was lost for words. She had a daughter. Lily and James Potter had a daughter. She didn't even know she was pregnant. How could this happen? Lily could feel tears welling in her eyes.

"Is it—is she alright?" Lily croaked.

"Fortunately, I was able to remove the baby before any harm was done but I will have to keep it in an Elicoptic Womb until it is fully developed." Marigold responded very matter of factly.

"Sorry, a what?"

"Elicoptic womb, it stimulates the same environment that encourages the fetus to grow without actually being in a witch's womb."

"Is it healthy?" Lily asked with increasing concern.

"Rest assured your daughter will grow to her full potential in an Elicoptic womb. In fact for a while in the 1890s parents of witches and wizards preferred to use them. That was of course until they were banned by the Ministry of Magic in 1898." Marigold rambled.

"They are illegal?" Lily said in disbelief.

"Oh don't worry only because there was too much demand and St. Mungos was severely understaffed for the job. It takes a lot of training to grow a baby out of it's natural womb. Wouldn't want your baby having five heads."

"Has that happened!?"

"Once, I think. But don't worry I'm a specialist." Marigold flashed a grin that only made Lily more uneasy.

"Plus this _isn't_ strictly illegal." Marigold added.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"Between the two of you I work in the Unspeakable Ward."

"What does that mean?" James asked, intrigued.

"Well, I can't speak about it. But! I can tell you it gives me permission to use illegal substances and methods."

Lily grabbed James' hand.

"What's going to happen to her?" Lily asked Marigold calmly.

"Well frankly, we can't keep her here. I would have to be in and out of this place constantly, and even my visit today is dangerous. Judging by my age meter, your daughter is only weeks old. Although the development of her magical core is impressive for her age, she will need a lot of care and potions in the following months, even with the age accelerator—"

"You can do that?"

"Oh yes, you can have a healthy bouncing baby girl in just a third of time normal pregnancies take. Two and a half months from now that would be….October 31st! Give or take a few days of course, but let's just say October 31st for precautionary sake."

"So, you're going to take our daughter away for two and a half months and we can't see her?" James asked.

"Well, I highly recommend it. Of course I couldn't do it without your consent."

Lily and James Potter hesitated.

"Would it help if I made and unbreakable vow: to ensure her safety and health until she is returns to the care of her parents?"

And so it was. The daughter of Lily and James Potter was whisked away by their zany but good intentioned friend. And Lily and James Potter said goodbye to their unnamed child for what they thought was two and a half months only never to see her again.

Lily and James were doomed to die.

Their daughter and son were doomed to be orphans.

And Marigold MacDonald was doomed to break her vow.

* * *

The eccentric healer knew it was over. She carried a basket bassinet in her right arm and clutched onto her wand in her left. Her dark purple velvet cloak could not contain her wild hair and her dark eyes could not contain her tears.

Her cloaked body cast a shadow away from the burning Potter home. Marigold knew what this meant. Voldemort had come for Lily and James and their baby. Oh, their baby! Little Harry Potter.

Lily and James Potter were dead and Marigold MacDonald knew it. Her right arm, in which she used to make the unbreakable vow, was turning black. Not just that it was shriveling.

" _Augmenta_ " Marigold whispered. A burst of water shot out from her long wand. It did no good. This fire was a result of some very powerful dark magic, anyone—or any body in it would be burned to ashes.

Muggles began to form a crowd in front of the scene and the siren of authorities was approaching. Marigold knew it was time to go.

So Marigold MacDonald left the scene, without knowing Voldemort was dead, without knowing Sirius and Hagrid had already been on the scene and saved little Harry Potter.

All she knew was she could never return the small Potter girl to her parents because they were dead, and because of that she had limited time before she was too. The unbreakable vow was broken and now she must pay the price.

But not before she did everything in her power to ensure the small Potter's safety. She was not going to let Voldemort get her too. If it was the last thing she did. And so it was.

* * *

"Mrs. Purrington! I'm afraid there really is nothing we can do!" Ms. Slavic replied for what must have been the hundredth time.

Ms. Slavic was the head caretaker at the Cavendish Orphanage. She was rarely seen without a slick tight bun on her head or thin glasses for her sharp dark eyes. She would not tolerate nonsense from the children and she would certainly not tolerate nonsense from the woman in front of her desk.

Mrs. Purrington however, was everything that Ms. Slavic was not. Her bulging blue eyes were almost as big as her excessive gold jewelry. Her mousy blonde curls bursted out from under her peacock church hat. And her short rounded figure seemed to be drowned in her white fur coat. Her new travel assistant and housekeeper, Tula, sat next to her quietly.

Mrs. Purrington was used to getting whatever she wanted and she wanted a child.

"Is there really nothing you can do for me? I am a woman of many resources. I would gladly make an donation to the Cavendish Orphanage if you would return the favor." Mrs. Purrington persisted in her native Australian accent.

"As I have told you before, it is out of my hands. There is a long waiting list for the specific type of child you are requesting. It can often take years before a family is placed with a baby. However if you would like to have an older child or a child of color—"

"No! That simply won't do! It has to look like it could be mine" Mrs. Purrington interrupted.

"Unfortunately then, there is nothing I can do." Ms. Slavic replied with finality.

She led the flustered Mrs. Purrington and Tula out of her bare office and through the cold hallway. As they past the old creaky stairwell a young woman came running down the stairs.

"Ms. Slavic, ma'am there is an emergency in room 13. Johnny Salinger ate too much Halloween lollies and puked all over Georgie Wilkens." Said the woman in a strong Scottish accent.

Ms. Slavic sighed and turned to Mrs. Purrington.

"As you heard there is an emergency on hand. I trust you can see yourself out."

Mrs. Purrington ruffled her fur coat and stormed off with Tula following.

Her hand was approaching the doorknob when the large wooden doors flung open on their own. A strong gust of wind filled the orphanage lobby. The sky was dark but clear with stars that only shined in the countryside. A dark figure clasped onto Mrs. Purrington's arm dragging her down.

Under her dark purple velvet cloak she revealed a small baby that looked no more than days old. Mrs. Purrington's eye's seemed to ever widen with greed at the child she had for so long, so desperately wanted.

"I need the Head caretaker," she croaked, as though those few words took all her might.

Mrs. Purrington knew this was her chance. Her heart pounded and her ears flushed as she said the next words.

"I am the head caretaker" she lied.

Without another question the dark haired woman passed the child to Mrs. Purrington. One of her arms was shriveled and black. The blackness seemed to be creeping up to her face.

Suddenly, with an unexpected tenacity, she grasped onto Mrs. Purrington's arm.

Mrs. Purrington tried to pull away but she couldn't.

The woman took out a little dagger making a small cut onto Mrs. Purrington's palm. Mrs. Purrington let out a frightful whimper at the sight of her own blood. She then cut her own palm and pressed their hands together.

"Do you promise you will see that she is provided with a home?" she asked again.

"Let go of me!" Mrs. Purrington wailed.

"You have to give me your word first" she pleaded.

"I promise" Mrs. Purrington let out between sobs of fright. Maybe Mrs. Purrington was imagining, but when she said those words a sense of warmth seemed to surge through their hands.

The fresh red cut that had been there moments before was now gone leaving only a faint pink line. Mrs. Purrington stumbled back and away from the strange woman.

"Who are you?" asked Mrs. Purrington in a rather frightened tone keeping her distance.

"My name is Marigold," she said with her last breath.

And then her eyes went lifeless.

And so it came to be that Mrs. Purrington, who had been struggling to get pregnant for three years now, took the small potter child back to Australia as her own. Never knowing the strong magical bond Marigold MacDonald had cast between them.

The next morning Ms. Slavic found the dead body of Marigold MacDonald in the lobby. She was buried in the neighborhood graveyard, nameless. Her encryption read, " _With hair too lively and eyes too enchanting, she died too young October 31_ _st_ _, 1981._ "

* * *

Please leave comments! I really love getting any type of feedback-even if it is bad! And I would love to answers any questions or concerns.

This chapter establishes a foundation for the rest of the story. It can be quite confusing, so I provided a summary bellow:

Lily and James Potter have a daughter out of womb in mid August 1981. Their healer friend, Marigold MacDonald, is supposed to take care of the baby until she is able to live without medical devices. Marigold makes an unbreakable vow to return their daughter safe and sound. However, she is unable to return the Potter daughter to her parents because they are dead. Marigold MacDonald knows the since she has broken the unbreakable vow she is going to die. She doesn't know that Voldemort is dead and is afraid that if he were to find out about the Potter girl he would kill her too. Therefore she takes her to an orphanage in the country side and creates a magical protection and bond between Mrs. Purrington and the Potter girl.


	2. Tula's Confession

TULA'S CONFESSION: CHAPTER TWO

Marigold Cavendish lay on her back with her arms behind her head. She was staring at the ceiling of the shed, her large hazel eyes following the small crawling spider.

Her magical watch glared in the dingy loft, providing a blue light. From what Marigold could make out it was a black spider with a red head and blue bottom. "Yes, definitely a Difisil-missulena spider" Marigold thought to herself. Marigold's satisfaction at identifying the spider ended with the reminder that soon she would have to get up and begin her long, dreadful list of chores.

At the turn of 6:00 am, her watch sang its morning rhyme: _The sugar plum fairies come to say, Get up before you lose the day!_ Marigold had that watch for five years and still didn't know how to change its stupid, childish rhyme. It was quite ridiculous really. Marigold turned on the light and climbed down her lofted bed.

Marigold occupied the outdoor shed on the edge of the Purrington property. Beyond the clutter of gardening tools and unused sports equipment laid an array of magical knickknacks and experiments. When Marigold wasn't completing her chores around the house or the yard she was experimenting with her cultures of Fiztertills and reading back to front the new issue of The Beastly Inquirer. Good thing the Purringtons never bothered to visit the shed, it would be a nightmare.

The Purringtons were her caretakers. All she knew was she had been left with them years ago when she was only a couple weeks old. They were very "generous", and they made sure she knew it. Marigold paid them back with labor.

While the Purringtons never treated Marigold as part of the family the house keeper, Tula, loved Marigold as her own. Tula was full bodied woman, with big hair and big lips. Her intense dark stare scared everyone but Marigold. Tula raised Marigold as the child she never had. She told her old aborigine stories and taught her how to garden. She even knew Marigold's secret: Marigold, a witch.

Yes, Tula knew exactly what to do when the letter by owl arrived from The Koara Institute of Sorcery. Perhaps Tula had her wand broken for misuse of magic, perhaps she was a squib, perhaps her brother was a wizard. No, Tula never told Marigold how she knew about magic but Mari had her theories. If anything Tula always had a knack for whipping up concoctions and serums.

"My love, I had my suspicions. My love, you are a witch!" She said to Marigold at age 10. Her eyes gleamed with delight and she never looked more excited as she explained to Marigold. Tula knew it was best to keep it a secret and convinced the Purringtons to let Marigold attend a "full scholarship boarding school for Horticulture."

Tula's laughter boomed in their absence. "Yeeeeeeeeeeh, those dummies bought it!" Tula exclaimed in excitement.

"My child you're going to love Koara. You'll be free."

Marigold laced up her dirty white sneakers and looked in the mirror. Marigold never considered herself to be the most beautiful girl in the room but she was in no ways unattractive either. She had quite nice almond shaped hazel eyes and full lips but her body was a bit gangly and her face was kissed with just a few too many freckles. Her auburn red hair reached her elbows and started to show signs of strawberry blonde after too many hours in the sun. Marigold touched her shoulder only to remind her of the painful sunburn she received after broom surfing the other day.

Sometimes at the break of dawn, Marigold would sneak out to the coast to ride the waves. In the magical world surfing was much different. It was a surf broom instead of board. It was much thinner than the muggle boards and could make waves on its own with the proper hover technique.

At Koara, wave herding was _the_ sport. The objective: to knock the opposing team off their boards or herd them to the coastline as many times as possible until the diver found the ball under the water. Water Quidditch was popular until far too many seekers got lost in the infinity of ocean, unable to find land again.

Mari smiled at the memory of her team winning the past Water Herding School Cup as she pulled a white blouse over her head. Marigold knew she was far from the best on the team, but she could hold her place and her waves were sharp and quick. A picture of her team stuck on the rectangular wooden pillar in the middle of the small shack. Clad in black and red wet suites they waved at her. Zep Cooper, the mischievous boy on the edge of the photo with brown hair, nudged a few people prompting them to lose their balance. Nat Luley looked on in disapproval, flipping her shoulder length black hair while perfectly balancing on her board. Those were her best friends.

Marigold felt her way through her trunk until her hand grasped her wand. 12 and ¼ inch, chestnut and unicorn tail, surprisingly supple. Marigold smiled at the memory of first obtaining her wand many years ago. Olivander's spread in the _Sydney Owl_ five years ago made him all the rage. Of course her supervisor Alura had to get her the best wand, well that and Gilderoy Lockhart was in London.

While Alura lusted over Gilderoy Lockhart with her copy of Gadding with Ghouls in tow, Marigold wandered the streets of Diagon Alley. The cobbled stones and crooked building felt oddly familiar to her.

Marigold's daydream of the fond memory of Diagon Alley was interrupted by Tula's booming voice.

"MAAARRRIII"

Marigold stuck her wand in her pocket and quickly scuttled outside.

The back yard was completely enraptured with different herbs and flowers. The plants were plotted into organized sections near the main house and became ever more disordered and strange as they reached the shed where Mari resided.

Marigold passed a Chomping Cabbage patch, a Sopophorous plant and Star-thistle bush as she neared the middle of the garden. A Flutterby bug flew onto her shoulder and left and an imprint before fluttering away.

"Oh my dear, you have love in your future." Tula cooed after seeing the imprint.

Marigold blushed. She had a few crushes before and one boyfriend but nothing serious.

"That is because I love you Tula," Marigold replied before Tula could expand on the subject.

Tula chuckled before going back to her digging.

"Help me with these Gurdyroots Mari," Tula requested.

Marigold grabbed some garden gloves and proceeded to pull out the thin green plants. She pulled a face as its bogey like aroma filled the air.

"I'm making an Gurdyroot Infusion for Gerdy. She has got the warts. Do you know anything about that, Mari?"

Marigold shook her head determined not to meet Tula's eyes as she pulled out more Gurdyroots.

Gerdy, or Gertrude, was the Purrington's pride and joy. Their angel was only a few months younger than Marigold and made her childhood and summers like hell. Gerdy closely resembled her mother Gail Purrington. She had bulging blue eyes and fat pouty lips that were squashed onto a round face. Her features would have been considered quite cute if wasn't for her horrendous personality.

After Gertrude locked Marigold in the pitch-black basement without her wand for a whole night, Zep Cooper, one of Marigold's best friends, "accidently" hexed Gertrude with warts. Marigold did not feel like correcting his "mistake" just yet.

After a full day in the garden, Marigold was sure she had gotten a new set of freckles. Tula touched Mari's sunburnt shoulders during their dinner in the kitchen, away from the other three Purringtons.

"Ouch" She exclaimed.

"We are going to need some Boorong lotion for that" Tula suggested.

Tula went into her room right by the kitchen and came out with a bottle of Boorong lotion and a small wooden box. She put the box in front of Marigold and proceeded to rub Boorong lotion on her back. As Marigold ate her cassava soup she studied the deep carvings and set stones that decorated the modest box.

"Mari, I've got a confession for you"

Marigold continued to eat as she listened to Tula.

"I know you've always asked about your family and I now I think you finally need to know the truth."

Marigold swiftly turned around and her hazel eyes widened.

Tula took a seat and clasped her ring-laden hand onto Marigold.

"I know you've been keeping yourself updated with the activities of You-Know-Who," she whispered.

Marigold nodded. Her thoughts took her back to just a few months ago Carden Village, famous for its mix of muggles and wizard families, was attacked by Death Eaters. Marigold grimaced as she remembered the news of muggles and muggle sympathizers hung upside down in the air. Voldemort was stationed in Great Britain but his troop of followers was starting to spread abroad. His following in Australia hadn't yet started a death count and his troop was small but nonetheless growing.

"You have to go to Britain" Tula said unexpectedly.

Marigold raised her eyebrows with surprise. She remembered Nat Luley, one of her best friends, always talked about going to Great Britain to fight Voldemort. She was always up-to-date with the most recent news and corresponded frequently with her cousin Cho Chang on the matter. She talked about how Harry Potter—the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One—had assembled an army, Dumbledore's Army, to fight Voldemort. Nat and Marigold used to stay up all night talking about going over there and joining the fight. But it was all talk they were underage after all. Marigold remembered talking to Tula about it before she blew up in anger.

"Do you know how dangerous that is?! You could be KILLED!" Tula screamed, spit flying out of her huge lips. That was the end of the conversation.

But now Tula was saying something completely different.

"I should go to Britain?"

"I have read the moon and the stars and the placement of Saturn and Mars on the fifth next to the red moon made me certain. You must act now."

Tula had often made predictions from her celestial observations. Marigold never took them too seriously but if she thought about it an eerily amount of them had been correct.

Tula placed her ring-laden hand on the wooden box and whispered an incantation. The carvings on the box started to move. The moon carving aligned with the sun and the box opened.

Inside the box lay a small silver locket, a vile with a single thread of hair and a gold ring encrusted with a crest.

Tula proceeded to explain to Marigold the conditions in which Mrs. Purrington became her guardian. How Mrs. Purrington had been desperate for a child she could pass off as her own. How she went on an extended holiday in England and as the three months grew to a close her desperation caused her lie to get a baby. When Mrs. Purrington returned to Australia and discovered she was pregnant with her own blood she rejected Marigold and branded her with the name of her findings: Marigold for the name of the woman that gave her away, Cavendish for the name of the orphanage in which she was taken.

Marigold's face became numb with this flood of information, in which she had for so long wondered and so long yearned to hear.

Tula picked up the glass vile that contained a single strand of black frizzy hair.

"This is the hair of the wild eyed woman that brought you to me"

Tula then picked up the ring.

"I took this ring from her hand before we left."

She then picked up the silver locket.

A simple " _E_ " and " _P_ " were etched in cursive onto the surface.

"You were wearing this locket when we found you"

Marigold grasped onto the locket and immediately felt a rush of warmth. The locket briefly shone with a yellow light before dimming. Marigold turned the locket over and found new writing etched on the back.

 _"_ _When the Thumbles come out",_ it read.

Thumbles were magical creatures that came in absolute safety. They hadn't been seen for decades. _Great_ , Marigold thought.

Marigolds made a fist around the locket as she felt hot tears roll down her face.

"I believe you still have family in Britain. If you don't find them now that stars say you will never get another chance." Tula said more ominously.

Marigold knew what this meant. Voldemort and his following were racking up their death count by the day. Everyday that passed was another day her biological family could be killed.

"But you are my family now" Marigold whispered. However mad she was at Tula for not telling her this information sooner, she could not contain her overwhelming compassion she felt for her.

Tula smiled sadly before pulling up the hem of her linen sleeve. Her left arm revealed the death mark blurred but bulging with black veins crawling up her arm.

Marigold gasped at this realization. Tula had cared for Mari her whole life. How could she ever have cowered to the beliefs of Voldemort?

"During the First Wizarding War I became involved with some dark wizards. Kaga Boorong was vey handsome and very persuasive. He filled my head with the rights of aboriginal wizards and witches." Tula's eyes glistened with tears as she recounted these painful memories.

"When I realized his delusion it was too late. Once you join the death eaters there is no going back. I had to hide from him, which is why I joined the Purringtons. The death mark stopped eating away at me with such speed after the first wizarding war and I have been able to subdue it with herbology but ever since a few summers ago its pain has grown stronger. I know my days are few and numbered."

That night Marigold felt like a child again as she slipped into Tula's bed and held her hand as they slept. The next morning Tula was dead and Marigold knew it was time to leave. Her heart felt like it had broken seven different times with in the span of twelve hours.

Sometimes you have to force the Thumble to come out


End file.
